


After the End

by Abbiemination



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Character Death, Disturbing Themes, Drama, F/M, Horror, Mild Sexual Content, Romance, Zombies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-20
Updated: 2016-02-18
Packaged: 2018-05-15 04:39:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5771659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Abbiemination/pseuds/Abbiemination
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Susanna, daughter of Ed and Carol, is a beautiful young girl who has been apart of Rick's group since the beginning of the End. As she becomes more familiar with the group members, it becomes harder and harder not to become attached to all of them, but who will she like a little bit more than everyone else? (Daryl/OC)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Susanna's P.O.V.

My face burned where he had slapped me. Icy tears cooled my bright red cheek as I cowered in the corner of our tent. My hair created a golden curtain between me and my angry father, who still had his hand raised above me. I had been a naughty girl once again. I had talked to the other girls at the camp, which according to my dad was a crime in his rulebook.

"Stupid bitch! Don't you ever talk to that...what's her name? Annie, that's it. Don't ever to talk to Annie again, you here me?" He told me, pointing a chubby finger in my direction.

"Her name's Amy, dad. Not Annie," I mumbled, tucking a lock of my hair behind my ear, revealing my bruising face.

"What did you just say? Did you just correct me?" He took one intimidating step towards me, ready to hit me again.

"Susanna? Oh, there you are," My mother stepped into the tent and her eyes grew wider at the scene in front of her, "Come on, Susanna, let's not bother your father," She gently took my arm and led me outside after making sure dad was comfortable. "What did you do this time?" She asked me as we made our way towards where the women were doing laundry.

"I talked to Amy. I talked to her, mom. I hate him. He's a motherfucking cu - "

"Language! You should try to be a better role model for your little sister," Mom glanced anxiously at Sophia as if she would instantly start shouting out swear words.

"Your not the best one yourself! What's she gonna learn from a woman who is scared of her husband and does everything he says?" I snapped and walked away, towards where Glenn was talking to Dale.

Before I could start talking to them, the harsh sound of a snarling walker made me stop. I screamed as the walker grabbed my hair and pulled my neck to it's mouth. I struggled to break free, but I eventually managed to loosen it's grip on me and grabbed a sharp rock that lay waiting on the dusty floor. I bashed the walker's skull before it could bite me. Glenn rushed to my side, his bright eyes wide with panic.

"Are you okay?" He asked. I nodded, taking a few deep breaths. My heart was still pounding in my chest and adrenaline coursed through my veins.

"I'm fine," I panted, wiping the beads of sweat forming on my forehead.

"You really should cut that hair," He said, glancing at my waterfall of golden curls that went down to my hips. I shook my head, I refused to have it cut. Dad had always made sure our hair was short, so during my childhood my hair never grew past my chin before it was cut. When I was sixteen, I moved out of the house and grew my hair long to show my dad I wasn't the weak little girl he once had control over. There was no way I was letting anyone cut my hair, even if it could save my life. There was nothing worse than letting my dad feel like he had power over me.

"No." I got up and brushed myself down. "I'm gonna go see how Sophia's doing," I stalked off towards where I could see my little sister playing with Carl and the other children. At least she was allowed to make friends, but dad would probably pull her out of the fun and games sooner or later.

"Susie! Have you come to play?" Sophia asked, a wide grin spread on her sweet little face.

"I dunno, Sophia, aren't I little old? You don't want your boring older sister ruining your game, do you?"

"You won't ruin it! Please play with us!" She begged,

"Oh, fine. Tag, your it!" Before she could react, I tapped her shoulder and ran away from her, laughing.

"No fair! I wasn't ready!" She whined, but smiled and lunged for Carl.

"You can't catch me!" Carl chanted, dodging her small hand.

Suddenly, a walker shuffled out of the bushed towards Sophia. She screamed and ran up the dusty bank we were on. Carl grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the danger, towards the adults. I rolled my eyes, they were overreacting. Besides, the walker had stopped to feed on a deer.

"What's going on?" Shane, Rick, Dale and Glenn rushed over to help, closely followed by the worried women who took their kids away. I stayed to watch the men aimlessly bash the walker. Idiots.

"The head guys, remember?" I sighed, walking over to them. Shane held up a hand, warning us not to come any closer. I rolled my eyes, "Just because I'm a girl, doesn't mean I can't help, besides, you have to get the brain. Wacking with sticks isn't going to do a thing." Just as I finished speaking, Dale sliced it's head off.

"Aw, man! That was my deer!" Daryl Dixon emerged from the bushes, he looked at the dead walker on the floor and spat at it, "Filthy, disease-bearing', motherless, proxy bastard!" He swore, kicking the carcass.

"Calm down, son." Dale said, Daryl walked right up to him and spoke angrily to him, I got bored and started walking back towards the camp. The familiar sound of a walker made me turn. The head of the walker started snapping it's jaws and growling. Amy, who was right by me, gagged and Andrea, her sister, led her away.

"I told you guys, you gotta get it in the he-" I started, but Daryl beat me to it,

"Gotta get the brain. Don't ya'll now nothin'?" He shot the writhing head through the skull with his crossbow and pushed past me, calling for his brother. Oh, crap.

"Merle! Merle?" I felt sorry for whoever had to break the news to him that Merle was most likely dead, or worse, bitten. I sighed and walked towards the forest to climb a tree.

Another walker came stumbling out of the woods towards me, I let out a yelp as it grabbed my arm. It brought my arm to it's snapping jaws and -


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Daryl's P.O.V

My arrow flew threw the air and buried itself into my desired target. The walker that had ahold of Susanna fell to the ground with a heavy thud. She fell to her knees, letting out a long sigh of relief. I ran over to her, ignoring the fact that Rick still had his gun pointed at my head.

"Thank you," She said as I helped her up.

"Whatever, just be more careful , can't be savin' ya ass all the time," I shrugged. She smiled at me with her cherry red lips. A lock of her beautiful golden hair fell into her face and I longed to brush it away, but I wouldn't dare. As she tucked it behind her ear I noticed the purple bruise dusting her cheekbone. It wasn't a mystery on who had given it to her. I clenched my jaw shut and walked over to Ed, who was relaxing in his chair and smoking. I smacked the cigarette out of his mouth and he stood up in shock,

"What the fuck? Can't ya see I'm tryin' to relax?" He snapped.

"Yeah, 'cause ya'll are a lazy piece a' shit!"

"What is ya problem?"

"You are my problem."

"Stop bothering me, piss off and look for ya fuckin' brother, like ya was gonna,"

"I'll stop botherin' ya when ya stop hittin' ya wife, and ya kids. Ya sick fucker,"

"I don't know what y'all are on about,"

"We've all seen the bruises, no point denying it,"

"What are ya gonna do 'bout it, anyway?"

"Daryl!" Susanna ran over to me. "It doesn't matter, just leave it alone," She said, her eyes flicking to her father nervously.

"Fine. But if I come back from getting' Merle and any one of ya family is hurt, I'll kill ya," I stormed off towards the truck where Rick, T-Dog and Glenn were waiting. I had meant what I said. It's not that I particularly liked Carol or her daughters, but no one can like a man like Ed. The sick bastard.

Susanna's P.O.V.

"I'm sorry daddy," I said as my father led me inside our tent to punish me. I wasn't sorry. Not one bit. I hadn't even done anything.

"You will be. How dare ya tell that redneck scum I was beatin' ya! Who else ya told?"

"No one! I swear! I didn't even tell Daryl!" He grabbed a fistful of my hair and tugged it hard. I screamed but he covered my mouth with his fat, clammy hands. I bit him, and he yelped,

"Fucking bitch. Don't lie to me!" He yelled, slapping me around the face. The slap made my bruise hurt even more. I pushed him, and he stumbled backwards, out of the tent and onto his ass. Everyone turned to look at us. As he got up, he drew his hand back to slap me again, but I kicked him in the balls before he could. He fell to his knees, holding his crotch and moaning.

I looked around, and every pair of eyes was on us. I turned and sprinted to where I knew my mother was.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"I miss my Maytag," Mom sighed, scrubbing the clothes on a washboard.

"I miss my coffee machine," Jacqui said, closing her eyes, thinking back to bitter-sweet taste of coffee we all took for granted.

"I miss texting," Amy told us.

"Me too, and my friends." I replied.

"I miss my vibrator," Andrea admitted, smiling to herself.

"Me too," My mum confessed.

"Mum! Please! I did not need to know that!" I said, embarrassed. We all fell into peels of laughter

"What's so funny?" Dad called over to us, tossing his stub of a cigarette aside.

"Oh, nothing, dad," I replied, pressing my lips into a tight line to stop myself from laughing.

"Problem, Ed?" Andrea asked, peering over at my father who carried on staring at us.

Lori stormed up to Shane, yelling at him, and then she dragged a protesting Carl back to camp.

"No." Dad shook his head, ignoring the angry Shane and Lori, "Just focus on your work, Carol. It ain't no comedy club,"

"Stop pushing her around! She's already doing your laundry!" Andrea snapped, walking right up to my father.

"Don't think I won't knock ya on ya ass," He threatened, grabbing my mom's arm. "Come on, Carol and you, Susanna, we're going back,"

"So they can show up with fresh bruises later, Ed?" Jacqui asked, crossing her arms. Mom, crying, tried to calm dad who was gradually getting angrier. He slapped her across the face and she stumbled back but quickly straightened herself up. Shane stormed up to dad, still fuming about the Lori thing. He grabbed dad and threw him on the floor that was littered with rubble, I rushed over and pushed Shane out the way, but not to protect the stupid man who struggled to get his fat body off the ground.

I slammed my foot onto his chest, knocking him onto his back. I then proceeded to punch him aggressively around the face. With each fist I threw at his face, my knuckles became bloodier. I stopped and he weakly pushed me, but it had enough force to send me onto my back. My head banged against a sharp rock and I grew light-headed. I knew I was going to black out. The last thing I saw was Shane punching my father. Good.

Daryl's P.O.V.

"What the fuck happened to you?" I asked Ed, who was sitting, hunched in his tent. He shrugged and avoided making eye contact with me. Shit. I rushed over to the RV where Dale had said he was going to go to see Susanna. I yanked open the door and hurried in to see Susanna lying on the bed, a white bandage wrapped around her head. Her beautiful long hair was matted with dirt and blood and her usually olive skin was dusty and shining with sweat.

"It was Ed. Wasn't it?" I asked Dale, though I already knew the answer was yes.

"He pushed her. But she beat him up first, according to the others." He replied, walking out the RV.

I sat next to her, watching her sleep. She was so beautiful, with her perfect figure and golden hair. Her eyes, when they were open, were the most angelic blue I had ever seen. Her mouth just begged to be kissed and even her nose was irresistibly cute.

She mumbled and then her eyes snapped open. She screamed.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Susanna's P.O.V.

He was after me. But he wasn't him. His face was still bruised and bloody, but his usually white skin was a sickly shade of green and his eyes were yellow and bloodshot. He was a walker. I sprinted away from him but he managed to keep in pace with me, his chubby feet slamming on the cold pavement. No matter how fast I ran, he caught up eventually, just like he did before the End.

I tripped on a loose rock and I fell, face first, onto the icy cold floor. My undead father stumbled to his knees and reached to grab me. But instead of sinking his dirty nails into my flesh, he raised his hand above me and struck me around the face. I screamed as he took a knife from his belt and poised it above my head. Before he could plunge the blade into my brain, a pure white arrow slice through his skull and he fell to the floor with a heavy thud.

"Thank y-" I started, but the man – Daryl - silenced me by raising his crossbow and shooting an arrow at me. This time, it was shining silver and I could see my reflection in it. Before I died, I saw that I too, just like my father, had green skin and disgusting eyes. I was a walker. I screamed.

I felt a big, strong hand on my arm. I shoved it off, whimpering.

"Get off! Get off! Get off!" I screamed, tired of walkers constantly ruining everything. But it wasn't a walker. It was Daryl.

"Jeez, I jus' woke ya up. Ya'll were screamin' like ya'll were fuckin' dying. Ya alright?" He scoffed,

"Daryl? Oh...yeah..I'm fine, just a bad dream, I suppose. Thanks for waking me up, I probably would've attracted more walkers if I carried on screaming like that," I looked up at Daryl sheepishly, embarrassed that he had seen me in such a fragile state.

"Whatever," He shrugged, "How's the head?" As soon as he said it, I became aware of a throbbing ache in my head. I reached up a fingered the white bandage wrapped around my hair, it wasn't stained with blood, so that was a good sign.

"It hurts like hell, but I'll live," I smiled, "But how are you? Did you get Merle?" I asked. Daryl wasn't exactly smiling before, but his face seemed to fall when I mentioned Merle. I instantly regretted what I asked.

"No. We're going back out again tomorrow," He said, and turned to leave. Before he left he said, "Ya mom's really worried 'bout ya, why don't ya come out?" If my mom was worried, why wasn't she here? Whatever.

"Sure, one sec, I'm just gonna get changed," I told him and he exited the RV.

I tugged off my dirty clothes and pulled on a light blue tank top and dark denim jeans. I ran my fingers through my hair and `stepped out of Dale's caravan.

It was still light outside, but only barely. The blue sky was stained with the beautiful pinks and oranges of sunset, and the moon had already made an appearance. The other had started a small fire and were huddled around it. My dad was nowhere to be seen, probably still in his tent.

"Hey," I sat down next to Sophia, hugging her to my side.

"Susie!" She wrapped her small arms around my waist, smiling. "Are you okay? Mommy says you hit your head hard," I patted her soft hair that was similar to mine, just shorter.

"I'm fine, sweetie." I kissed her forehead and turned to the others, who were chatting amongst themselves. Rick looked happy, he had his arm casually slung over Lori's shoulders and his other arm was wrapped protectively around Carl. I still couldn't believe that he'd managed to find his family. It was something that would happen in a fairytale. With undead citizens walking around instead of Princes and Princesses. And now everyone was the damsel in distress, with walkers lurking behind every corner.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

 

That night, I slept in a hammock. The thought of sharing a tent with my dad repulsed me and so while he was off pissing I snuck in and stripped my bedding from the blow-up bed and shrugged my backpack on my shoulders. Using a plain white sheet, I managed to create a make-shift hammock to sleep in.

As I stared up at the twinkling stars that were dotted in the ebony night sky, I wondered what would've happened if I hadn't stopped punching my dad that morning. Would he be dead? Would he be the man I saw in my dream? A walker? Who knew?

I closed my eyes in futile hope to get some sleep, but even after a few hours had passed, sleep did not gift me with it's presence. I sighed and sat up, looking at the tents where the rest of the group were sound asleep. Except for Daryl. he was sitting by the members of the fire, whittling some wood with his sharp hunting knife. I climbed back down the tree and made my way over to him.

"What're you doing up?" I asked, sitting on the other side of the fire. Hot ashes danced in the air, disappearing into the darkness of night time.

"I could ask y'all the same question," He replied, dusting off some sawdust from the block of wood,

"I can't sleep. What you making?" I leaned in to take a closer look but he covered it with his big hands.

"Nothin'." He snapped and got up to walk away. "I'm goin' huntin'. I'll be back in the mornin' to go find Merle." He hurried off into the woods, leaving me all alone. What an asshole.

The Next Day...

"Where are you going?" Andrea asked as Amy stood up, leaving the fish she had caught with Andrea by the fire.

"The bathroom. Jeez, you try to be discreet." She rolled her eyes and we all laughed as she hurried into the RV. A moment later, she came out complaining that there was no toilet paper. I had noticed that a few hours ago, I probably should've put some more in there.

Before anyone could react, a walker emerged from behind the RV and bit into Amy's arm, she screamed, falling to her knees as another walker ripped open her neck with it's bare teeth.

Chaos.

A herd of walkers shuffled into our camp from the forest. People ran around mindlessly like headless chickens. Some were devoured. Some weren't. It was hard to tell who was a walker and who wasn't because everyone was covered in guts from where they had killed walkers. I killed a few myself; I was smart enough to keep my knife on me. At one point I saw Rick and Daryl and a couple others join the chaos, and they had guns, so they killed a majority of them.

During the blur of undead death, I tripped. A half-eaten walker dragged it's bloody carcass over to me as I felt myself getting dizzy. My head was pounding where I had banged it on the same place as last time. But I felt strong arms scoop me up and that was when I blacked out.


End file.
